Liberalism with Limits: Weisberg

Jacob Weisberg, National Political Columnist for New York Magazine and contributing editor to The New Republic believes that liberal government must recognize its limits and limit its intrusion, if it is to regain the public's trust. Mr. Weisberg proposes a neo-progressivism [my word, not his], looking back to the early Progressives for their perspective on government as a necessary and useful tool to be used cautiously and sparingly in the pursuit of the public good. The following selection is from his book In Defense of Government:

..."Progressivism is often viewed as a departure from the tradition of limited power. In reality, however, Progressives did not advocate unbridled growth in government. They were motivated by the need to control a new kind of power, the private might of industrial gigantism. At the turn of the century, this force seemed so strong as to threaten the state itself. In response to it, Progressives asserted the need for a government that could cage the beast and protect citizens from its ravages. But they remained deliberate and cautious in using the federal tool....

..."The first step in the recovery of the public trust is for liberals to rediscover the joys of limited power. Restraining government does not having to mean keeping it entirely out of the economic or moral spheres or forgoing all policies that smack of paternalism. But it does mean knowing when to stop, even in pursuit of valid social goals. It means to return to the old Progressive reluctance to use the federal government.”...

In Defense of Government: The Fall and Rise of Public Trust, by Jacob Weisberg [Scribner,1996, pp.158-164]

I think he has a point here. Limitations must be recognized, and too often they are not. But how do we decide which policies to pursue, and when to stop pursuing them? That's the topic of my next essay.